The U.K.'s Brexit deal with the EU has been rejected by U.K. lawmakers in another landmark defeat for British Prime Minister Theresa May.
May's Brexit deal was defeated for the first time back in January but she had hoped last-ditch tweaks to the deal, specifically on the contentious Irish border issue, would help persuade Members of Parliament (MPs) to change their minds.
Her deal was rejected by 149 votes after 242 MPs voted for the deal and 392 MPs voted against the deal. Sterling pared earlier losses against the dollar after the decision to trade 0.2 percent lower at $1.3124.
The deal's chances were dealt a blow earlier on Tuesday when the government's chief legal advisor said that the risks to the U.K. from the "Irish backstop" remained unchanged despite recent legal assurances from Brussels — although he did say the risks had been reduced by the tweaks.
The Irish backstop is a mechanism to avoid restoration of the "hard" border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that was erased with the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement between London and Dublin. Some U.K. politicians don't like the fact that the backstop, although intended as a last-resort, would mean the U.K. remaining within a EU customs union for an indefinite amount of time and unable to leave unilaterally, effectively meaning it might be tied to the EU for an unspecified duration.
MPs are now expected to vote Wednesday on whether the U.K. should leave the EU without a deal on March 29, the scheduled departure date. If that option is rejected, as widely expected, MPs are then to vote on whether to delay Brexit which they are expected to support.
The vote on Tuesday evening was arguably the most important vote for Brexit since the 2016 referendum on EU membership.
In a last-ditch attempt to allay concerns over the backstop, May traveled to Strasbourg Monday night and said she had won "legally binding" assurances from the EU and called on MPs to back her "improved" deal.
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